Welcome to the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu web page. Here you can find all the needed information about this beautiful trail and all the features it provides, about the different alternatives and also about the tips and recommendations which will make this experience amazing! There are some very important things that you must get informed before booking the hike.
The Inca Trail covers a total of 40,000 Km / 25,000 miles, connecting its capital, Cusco or Qosqo, this path was to connect the different points and also to limit the territory from one land to the other.
The Inca Trail was built based on the construction made by the previous cultures who lived in the zone, specially the Waris. Once the Incas conquered those territories they decided to improve the roads instead of destroying them. This was the key to the success of the Inca empire, adapting, learning and improving based on the knowledge of the previous civilizations.
The functions of this path was not just for communication, it was vital for their political, social, religious, and economic system. Since the main roads were running through the high mountains in the Andes, from Quito Ecuador to Tucuman in Argentina, and also connecting Tumbes in Peru to the Maule river in Chile, crossing hundreds of rivers and ending in the Pacific ocean and the Atacama desert.
The Inca Trail was also used for the Spaniards to get faster access to the different villages of the Inca empire and making their attacks easier and more effective. Leading to the start of the end of the Inca civilization.
Cusco is a city in the Peruvian Andes that was the capital of the Inca Empire and is known for its archaeological remains and Spanish colonial architecture. The Plaza de Armas is the center of the old city, with galleries, carved wooden balconies and ruins of Inca walls. The convent of Santo Domingo, of baroque style, was built over the Inca Temple of the Sun (Qoricancha) and has archaeological remains of Inca stone.
